At the age of 10, I could place Port Moresby, Buenos Aires and Cape Town on a map with ease. Where did I get this know how? Not from school — our classes back then talked about little else than Canadian geography. Not from my surroundings either — living amidst globes and atlases wasn’t all that interesting to me as a child. Not even from my dad, who’s flown into so many places that I can’t even name three countries he hasn’t been to.

No, I remember exactly where my early affluence at geography came from.Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. Yes, the computer game that reached its height of popularity in the late 80s — back when floppy disks really were floppy — is where I learned about Lima and perused Peru, all while tracking down Carmen and trying to score more points than my little brother.

I’m serious. I played a lot of that game when I was growing up and I credit it at least in part for my travel addiction in adulthood. And while I wouldn’t say I’m a geography expert now, I’m certainly more knowledgeable than the average person. I don’t know if it’s still around, but I do know that it’s a great learning tool for kids. And I bet many people my age can vouch for that.